Senators Urge Passage of Paycheck Fairness Act
Posted by bneufeld on May 23, 2012 at 05:44 am
MIKULSKI, SENATE DEMOCRATS AND ADVOCACY GROUPS TO URGE SENATE PASSAGE OF PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT
Effort Follows Mikulski Reintroduction of Bill Tuesday to Support Pay Equity for Women
Senator Reid Expected to File Cloture on Bill This Thursday
State by State Wage Gap Data Available
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 2:30 p.m., U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, will be joined at a press conference by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), along with representatives of the American Association of University Women (AAUW),the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to urge the Senate to immediately take up and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which will help close the wage gap between women and men working equivalent jobs, costing women and their families $360,000 over their careers. Senator Mikulski reintroduced the legislation on Tuesday.
While women still make on average 77 cents to every dollar made by a male, the Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the promise of the Equal Pay Act, passed 49 years ago on June 10, 1963. It helps close the pay gap by empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, closing loopholes courts have created in the law, creating strong incentives for employers to obey the laws and strengthening federal outreach and enforcement efforts.
State-by-state data on the wage gap is available here.
The legislation would require employers to demonstrate that wage gaps between men and women doing the same work have a business justification and are truly a result of factors other than gender. The bill would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers. The Paycheck Fairness Act also would strengthen the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to help women achieve pay equity by requiring DOL to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities and to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender. The bill would also create a competitive grant program to provide negotiation skills training programs for girls and women.
WHO:
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.)
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
Lisa Matz, Public Policy and Government Relations Director, AAUW
Fatima Goss Graves, Vice President for Education and Employment, NWLC
Judith Lichtman, Senior Advisor, NPWF
Deborah Vagins, Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU
WHEN:
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
2:30 p.m.
**Media are asked to pre-set by 2:15 p.m.**
WHERE:
LBJ Room (S-211)
The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
